Diem Infamia Chapter 4

"Steady as she goes," Captain Mandas called from his command dais, watching the bridge crew work. They were calm and steady this day, a welcome change from the typical highs and lows of combat, but there was a weariness to their eyes. They had sailed across the stellar system for a year and a day, rooting out pirate enclaves and burning them to ash. Convoys had been saved, lives spared and the Emperor's realm safeguarded but that was scant comfort to a lonely man. Apart from the occasional designated resupply ship, they had not seen another Navy ship for a year and they were homesick.

Their heads were low, busying themselves at their tasks, lest the junior Commissars deem them lax, but he knew their hearts. The junior officers, many of whom had just completed their first tour were looking forward to returning home and seeing their families. Far more of them were looking forward to seeing sweethearts and girlfriends but the Captain knew they were in for a rude shock. Life in the void was not kind to relationships, the realities of starflight making human sense of time a pathetic joke. These boys, and the midshipmen below decks, had only spent a few months at a time away from dock, kept close to home where they couldn't get into too much trouble. Yet now they had been away for a year and many of them would go home to find their dearest had shacked up with someone else. Yes, life was hard on a void farer and few made the mistake of marrying young, those that did oft returned from long warp voyages to find they looked younger than their own children and aged strangers where their spouses had once stood. For this reason the Imperial Navy discouraged marriage until a man was old and done with his voyages, when he could expect to stay in a posting or have achieved a rank high enough to bring their families with them.

Thoughts of home caused Mandas to look up into the Hololith, seeing the stellar plot laid out. In one corner the Averof and her convoy of transports crept closer to Greater Tectum, trudging wearily back to dock. Any soul would have been glad to come back to his abode but this was something special. Tectum was a super-massive gas giant, bordering on brown-dwarf status and skirting the edge of the habitable zone. Such a planet was rich in hydrogen and chemicals, ceaselessly gathered by orbital cloudscoop operations, but that was only the start.

Around the gas giant orbited a collection of moons more numerous and densely packed than anywhere else in the sector. One hundred and seventeen moons orbited Greater Tectum, each one colonised and converted for human use. The smallest and least impressive ones, none more than fifty miles long, had been converted into watch posts, supply depots, defence installations and dockyards. Medium ones, were covered in domed settlements and agri-domes. But the thirteen largest moons matched ancient Terra in size. They boasted sealed Hive Cities, orbital towers and deep core mineworks that made the Tectum system the greatest manufacturing base in the Sector.

The confusion of orbital tracks, Mandeville points, dynamic vectors and gravity shifts made Astrogation a nightmare. Only the most skilled starfarers could sail here unimpeded, which was why Battlefleet Karyl had built up a reputation for master Astrogators. Generations of officers had been trained at the naval academies, learning their craft from the youngest age. Other sectors even sent their officers here for cross-training, spreading their skills across two segmentums.

Mandas looked at the mad confusion of plots and drew in a breath to utter, "It always impresses me."

From the Auspex station Mr Avergis replied, "That it does Captain, one hundred and seventeen moons, that has to be a galactic record."

From the enginarium station Magos Vista clarified, "Actually while Tectum sits in the top one percentile of charted worlds it is not the highest number recorded. There are seventeen documented planets with larger number of moons through the Imperium."

Mandas saw a few crewmen bristle at that, the pride of the fleet being inextricably bound up in the glory of their fleet base. Hurriedly the Captain spat, "Thank you magos."

Unfortunately the Tech-Priest had the same awareness of subtly as a brick and continued, "Of course there are more objects in the system. Hundreds of rogue asteroid, comets and Lesser Tectum."

"Lesser Tectum!" came the irritated voice of Mr Rondis from Astrogation, "Lesser Tectum is nothing, a mere fifteen moons and so far out they can't even see the local star! The rock-grubbers living there are nothing but trash."

Magos Vista seemed to have no idea he was aggravating the crew as he continued, "These two gas giants are the primary reason why this system has no habitable planets, their gravity tore apart any world before it could solidify. Only drifting asteroid belts remain of several failed planets. This system would be useful for nothing save raw materials, were it not sitting at the confluence of several Warp routes."

Mandas interrupted him to bark, "Magos, we are aware of local history. Please do not repeat things we learned at the Scholam."

Magos Vista finally took the hint and shut up but Mr Fotrum spoke from the gunnery pews to say, "Tectum is far too crowded, the fleet would be better served to spread its resources further apart."

Mandas glanced over and saw the man trying to look disinterested. The Master of Weapons hailed from Angles' Redoubt, a hive world further up the Saint Karyl Trail. The culture of Angles' Redoubt held itself to be a serious contender to Tectum and their chief rivals for the position of Sector Capital. Yet among the people of Tectum that was considered a joke, nothing could match their power and influence, so they held. Insults and barbs were frequently traded between natives of the worlds and Mr Fotrum had a huge chip on his shoulder about it.

Mandas tutted and said, "Peace Mr Fotrum, let us not question seven thousand years of naval tradition. Not when we have a patrol heading for us, isn't that right Mr Avergis?"

The Master of Auspex was holding a data-slate and replied, "Correct Captain, we've been swept by Auspex from the perimeter watch stations and there's a contact heading this way. Premlinary scans suggest a squadron of escorts or a cruiser."

Mandas lifted an eyebrow and asked, "You aren't sure?"

"Apologies Captain," Avergis replied, "Logic engines are ruminating."

Mandas waited impatiently as the Auspex crews laboured to decode the signals they were receiving. Avergis fretting over them like a mother hen, constantly checking and cross-checking answers. He was detailed and meticulous in his work, but slow. He cared for precision and accuracy, traits that made him a fine surveyor officer but ones that had seen him kicked from the command track for timidity. Avergis would never command a starship.

Eventually Avergis presented a data-slate and said, "Confirmed match, it's a Dictator class: the Kanaris."

Mandas smiled as he took the slate and said, "The Kanaris, that's Captain Anthes' ship."

Beside him Commissar Kaath-Dousmanis sniffed and said, "His family can trace their origin back to a daughter of the Dousmanis family, some eighteen centuries ago. They're very well connected, for a minor household."

Mandas grinned and said, "There's more to him than his blood, he's a hard-drinking, hard-fighting ruffian. He can drink a midshipman under the table and then go on to charge a fleet of Orks."

Kaath-Dousmanis sounded surprised as he said, "I wasn't aware you had met."

Mandas' smile widened as he said, "We go way back, damn near gave me liver failure trying to keep up with him. Communications, signal the Kanaris and send them our clearance codes, then pass her Captain my compliments."

Commander Grenfeld, moved to comply, it took a while as they were on the edge of sensor range and vox messages took several minutes to reach between the ships, making real-time Hololithic communications impossible. After a few minutes Grenfeld turned back and reported, "Captain Anthes has confirmed our codes, it seems they have been expecting us. They direct us to dock at the Athenea Drift shipyard; the convoy is to proceed under guard to watch station Magera, for security inspection. There was an additional message; Captain Anthes says he'll meet you at the Saint's Arms for a grog… or ten."

Mandas laughed aloud and said, "Send back that the first round is on him. Good hunting Kanaris."

After a moment Grenfeld replied, "Kanaris' response was: Good hunting Averof."

Mandas turned to his bridge crew and called, "Commissar, note the hour in the ship's log and mark our return to Tectum. Communications, signal the convoy that they are under the Kanaris' protection now and are to obey all orders. Mr Rondis, plot a course to Athenea Drift and keep us away from the civilians, we don't want to spook anybody."

"Aye, aye Sir," Rondis replied and went to work, charting a safe passage through the multitudes of shifting gravity wells and past the swarms of stations and orbital towers. It was supremely difficult work but Rondis was a veteran, older than Mandas and trained by the finest Astrogators. The white-haired officer made it look easy and after a few minutes had calculated a course that would see them to their destination.

Mandas watched as the Averof pulled away from the convoy, leaving them under the Kanaris' wary eye and slipped into the orbital lanes of Greater Tectum. A thousand wary surveyors probed the Averof and Mandas knew his ship would be fired upon if they detected any sign that his ship or crew had been tainted, but thankfully they tripped no alarms and slipped past the ring of smaller moons that encompassed the outer edge of the planet's orbit.

As they sank deeper into the gravity well the profusion of shipping grew exponentially and Mandas called, "Open the oculus." The armoured louvres at one end of the bridge slid apart, revealing the universe beyond. Hundreds of tugs, systems ships, shuttles and passenger craft flew between the moons, latching onto orbital towers to ship their goods to and from the surface. True Warp capable starships were rarer but far larger, built to withstand the nightmare stresses of the Immaterium they were bloated whales set against the minnows of the short-range craft and nothing dared cross their paths. Further down the cloud scoop stations continued their endless harvesting, drawing fuel and chemicals from the murky depths of the brown gas giant. The distances of the void were vast beyond comprehension, but even so the tiny motes of light danced in the Oculus like a cloud of fireflies.

Suddenly Avergis called out, "Taking us a bit close to the Inquisition starfort aren't you?"

Rondis replied calmly, "Close but not too close, they won't fire on us, trust me."

Mandas watched the starfort in question slip by, sitting serenely in a Lagrange point between two moons. The Inquisition sat alone and undisturbed in their mighty fortress, none daring to draw their attention. Mandas was confident that nothing would trouble them but even so he did not like passing so close to the Emperor's left hand, no starfarer wanted to provoke the shadowy agents of the Golden Throne. Thankfully their journey went unchallenged, Rondis skirting the edges of their invisible perimeter without triggering an alert and Mandas breathed out slowly, feeling tension he didn't know he was carrying ooze out of him.

It was then that Kaath-Dousmanis called out, "Look there, that's the Panthir." Mandas looked into the Hololith and saw the icon of a great Retribution class battleship running parallel to theirs. She was an immense vessel, easily eclipsing the Averof in size and firepower and more importantly she always carried a flag officer. Mandas ordered, "Look sharp lads, we've been out beyond the perimeter so tradition demands we give the first flag-officer we see a seventeen-gun salute."

Crewmen hastened to obey but Kaath-Dousmanis stepped closer and whispered, "Captain, the Panthir is under the flag of Kountouriotis, the vice-admiral…"

Mandas caught the implication and ordered, "Correct that boys, make it a thirteen-gun salute."

Mandas was glad of the correction for naval tradition was convoluted and yet rigorously applied, a single slip would be a disgrace to the ship's record. Tradition said the demoted Vice admiral would receive a thirteen gun salute, a full admiral got seventeen, a rear admiral got nine, and only the Lord Admiral himself enjoyed a twenty-one gun salute. Mandas waited until the two ships reached their closest pass and then called, "Mr Fotrum, if you please."

There was a deep rumble from the Averof as her guns lit up, her macrocannons dry firing without actually projecting any shells. It was a symbolic gesture of submission; the guns would require time to reload which left them at the Vice admiral's mercy. In return Hololithic signal pennants on the Panthir lit up, showing the flag officer's traditional acknowledgment. Mandas watched her cruise away and wondered what it would be like to command such firepower. But a battleship was slow and ungainly; he loved the Averof too much to ever give her up. As the Panthir sailed away he finally spied their destination, an ugly lump of a moon, cored right through by gated tunnels that protected the shipyards behind. Athenea Drift dockyard.

Mandas was glad that their long voyage was finally over and ordered, "Signal the dockmaster and request permission to come in."

Grenfeld relayed the message and then called, "Permission granted for dock seven, they ask if we require a tug boat."

Mandas grinned at that and said, "No need, tell them we can do it ourselves. Cut plasma drives and fire forward thrusters, reduce our relative speed to a minimum. We will do this with manoeuvring thrusters only. Stand ready boys and be gentle with your handling, let's show them how this is done."